Many companies still use different systems for making phone calls, accessing data or taking part in video conferences. Typically, each of those systems will have a different supplier and a different set of costs. Not ideal – but converged networks are showing the way forward. They offer the ability to combine applications, make information accessible to anyone, anywhere within the organisation, and to integrate data from different systems – all on a single network.

High speed and highly integrated communications make it possible for even small players to compete with larger rivals, and to do so without busting their budget.

Convergence is all about taking phone calls on your computer, accessing your voicemail through email software, and condensing every possible communications tool – from email to instant messaging and voice – into a single easy-to-use package. It's also about streamlining the infrastructure behind these tools. You can replace separate fixed and wireless networks for voice calls, data traffic and multimedia content with a single converged network. You can use your internal network to make phone calls to all your offices without paying for them over a public network.

‘Always on’ access to information helps encourage collaboration between colleagues, business partners and customers alike, while real-time access to instant messaging, email, and network resources can boost productivity. For example, your staff could use handheld devices to access internal systems through wireless networks, allowing them to stay in touch while on the move in, say, distribution or exhibition centres, warehouses or hospitals. With this in mind, solutions like our Wireless LAN (Local Area Network) are ideal for improving employee productivity by enabling real-time access to company resources.

Seeing your way to a clearer view

The benefit of all of this is reduced cost and complexity through the rationalisation of suppliers. Creating a single platform enables a clearer view of network performance and usage, as well as making it easier to reduce maintenance costs. Efficiency and flexibility can be improved too by using IP (Internet Protocol) networks to reduce communication costs and assign priorities to different communications.

Convergence can also offer employees new tools for remote and collaborative working. Today’s communication technologies make it easy to keep your remote workforce informed rapidly, cost-effectively and securely. Location or end-user devices are no longer barriers to information sharing: everyone can be contacted via a single personal number.

Whether in the office, travelling or teleworking, staff can choose how and when they can be contacted. They can also personalise the communication tools they use and share information with anyone within the security of your network. Our IP Multimedia solution, for example, offers voice and video calling, instant messaging and file transfers, as well as audio/video conferencing; ideal for organisations considering initiatives like hot desking and homeworking.

Here are a few solutions that could help you achieve flexibility via convergence:

• Converged Solutions: IP technologies have set businesses buzzing at the prospect of transforming customer and employee communications with services like IP Multimedia and IPVPN.
• Site-to-Site Connectivity Solutions: Connect sites, customer databases and customer service staff wherever they may be.
• Customer Contact Solutions: Solutions include routing management, reporting, on-disk billing and inbound call analysis, self-service, interactive services, fully integrated hosting solutions and telemarketing numbers.